Westmoreland category, Page 819
Pa. senior centers get grants to improve buildings, programs
Several Westmoreland and Allegheny County senior centers are receiving grant money that will help modernize buildings and expand programs. As part of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, almost $2 million in grants was given to almost 50 senior centers across the state. In Westmoreland County, the New Kensington Center for...
E-ZPass penalty charges irk Pennsylvania Turnpike drivers
Patty Wolfe was browsing Facebook when she saw a friend’s warning: Check your E-ZPass statement for higher-than-usual toll fees for trips on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Wolfe heeded the advice. “The very first statement I looked at showed me getting on at Irwin, for $10, and me getting off in Monroeville,”...
Murrysville’s massive voting precincts to be split after court grants petition
When the 2020 election rolls around, more than 7,000 Murrysville residents won’t have to wait nearly as long to cast ballots. A county judge on Friday signed off on a petition brought by Murrysville’s two major political committees, which seeks to break up two massively oversized voting precincts. Lines at...
Greensburg Police allege woman bilked 14 customers in firearms sale scheme
Greensburg Police accused an Allegheny County woman this week of bilking $15,235 from 14 customers in an online firearms sale scheme. Jennefer Bittner, 24, of Monroeville, was charged by city police with 14 counts each of theft, theft by deception and receiving stolen property before District Judge Chris Flanigan. Det....
Project Day caps school days for Greensburg Salem seniorsVideo
As the school year was wrapping up last spring, teachers at Greensburg Salem Senior High School distributed more than 200 three ring binders — one to each member of the outgoing junior class. The students would have the summer to consider the senior projects that they are required to document...
Proposed bill would waive Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls for police, first responders
Robert Stafford, captain of the Greensburg Police Department, admits scratching his head last year after a bill crossed his desk from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission requesting a toll payment for a city patrol car that entered the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass during a pursuit. “They sent a a picture of...
Hempfield students to participate in Remake Learning Days
Some Hempfield students are taking a step back from the curriculum for a day as they prepare to present projects they have been working on as part of the Remake Learning Days Across America. The day, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, allows students to pick...
Accused Murrysville massage parlor operator to stand trial on human trafficking, prostitution charges
A Flushing, N.Y., woman accused of owning and operating the now defunct Judy’s Oriental Massage Parlor in Murrysville waived her right to a preliminary hearing Friday on charges the business was actually part of a human trafficking operation where prostitution was occurring. Huican Wei, 47, will now proceed to trial...
Trafford woman accused of prostitution
A Trafford woman is facing prostitution charges after witnesses told police they watched men going in and out of her apartment at least 16 times between January and April, according to court papers. The men would stay for 30 minutes or less at the apartment of 30-year-old Sarah Angela Frye,...
Hempfield’s former Toys R Us to sparkle again – as a fireworks store
A changing retail market and change to Pennsylvania law helped pave the way for a Hempfield building that until recently was filled with plush dolls, binkies and countless nursery must-haves to seeing its shelves stocked with bottle rockets, Roman candles and other popular pyrotechnics. The former Toys R Us on...
Fatal overdoses in Westmoreland continue to plunge in 2019
Overdose deaths in Westmoreland County this year are on pace to fall short of 100 for the first time since 2014, according to Coroner Ken Bacha’s office. Overdose deaths drastically fell in 2018 by 37 percent from a record 193 in 2017 to 122 last year, and the number of...
Monessen man pleads guilty to weapons violation in 2017 shootout
A Monessen man was sentenced to two to four years in a state prison Thursday in connection with a shootout on a city street nearly two years ago. Delaney Dionte Huggins, 31, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm. He originally was charged with attempted homicide and other offenses...
Playground installed in place of blight in Sutersville; donations still needed
Children in Sutersville have a new playground to climb on after a park expansion, according to the Westmoreland County Land Bank. The “Play Express” is a four piece train set that includes a tunnel and small slide at the town’s community park on First Avenue, the land bank announced this...
Firefighters responded to Unity Township silo fire Thursday
Officials responded to a working structure fire at Gutchess Hardwood in Unity Township Thursday night, according to a Westmoreland 911 operator. Firefighters responded to the Devereux Drive company shortly after 8:30 p.m. for a sawdust silo on fire. No injuries were reported. Further information was not immediately available....
Dress rule dropped: Norwin girls can wear pants to graduation
Norwin school officials backed down from a standing graduation guideline suggesting senior girls wear dresses under their gowns for the ceremony. Female grads now will be allowed the option of wearing dress pants, like their male classmates, beginning with the commencement ceremony May 24. In what could be considered equal...
Shalimar Bazaar to close after 25 years in GreensburgVideo
Shalimar Bazaar, a Greensburg boutique specializing in eclectic home decor, plans to close after 25 years in business. Owner Karen Barns said she’s retiring to spend time with her family. Though she hasn’t set a final day, plans are to close the East Otterman Street store in late May or...
Westmoreland County schools score nearly $1.4 million in state security grants
Pennsylvania awarded $40 million in new school safety grants, with 10 Westmoreland County school districts, two Career and Technical Centers and the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit among 234 recipients sharing in the largesse. State lawmakers established the competitive grant program in the wake of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting...
Police: Latrobe man killed in motorcycle crash
A 51-year-old Latrobe man was killed Thursday afternoon after a motorcycle crash, police said. Kevin Seremet was taken to Excela Latrobe Hospital where he was pronounced dead after officials responded to the intersection of Depot and Alexandria streets for a crash between a motorcycle and a car. According to Westmoreland...
Westmoreland County Food Bank honors its volunteers of the yearVideo
Even in the midst of personal tragedy, Robbyn Slavin did not miss a beat as volunteer coordinator for the Charter Oak Church Food Pantry. “It’s important to me to keep with the commitments I agree to,” Slavin said. In December 2016, Slavin, 46, and her husband, Ron, were at a...
Westmoreland ambulance personnel work to get those with addiction problems help
When paramedics leave the scene of a drug overdose where the patient refused to be taken to the hospital, it can weigh on their minds. Could they have helped more? What happened to the patient? A new partnership in the North Huntingdon and Rostraver areas is finding success in helping...
Shawnee re-enactor to speak at Bushy Run Battlefield
A Native American re-enactor will portray a Shawnee warrior of the 1700s and discuss Shawnee culture at 7 p.m. May 15 at the Bushy Run Battlefield Museum, Route 993, Penn Township. Thomas Vecchio, of Shaler, will present a first-person program detailing the Shawnee’s way of life. Vecchio has studied the...
Cops: Fugitive, girlfriend discovered inside tent in Unity with meth
A search Thursday for a 29-year-old Latrobe area man wanted for failing to comply with court-mandated drug tests as part of his probation led the Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies to a tent in Unity Township. Inside the tent behind a residence on Dogwood Lane, deputies Robby Orbin and Frank Neal...
Mt. Pleasant driver arrested in connection with South Greensburg fatal hit-and-run
A stroke of luck led investigators to an East Huntingdon car dealership last week where they stumbled upon a car they believe was involved in a fatal hit-and-run of an elderly man in South Greensburg last month, according to police But Lauren Gerritsen thinks her grandfather, Clarence Wolff, had something...
Former Irish running back Reggie Brooks to speak at Notre Dame Club of Greensburg event
Reggie Brooks, a former Fighting Irish All-American running back, will be the guest speaker at the Notre Dame Club of Greensburg’s annual Notre Dame Celebration. The May 28 event at Christ Our Shepherd Center, 2900 Seminary Drive, Unity, begins with a 6 p.m. reception, followed by an interactive presentations by...
Safety program for children planned in Penn Township
Youngsters can learn about basic safety measures, tips and awareness lessons that promote personal and community safety during a Safety Township program next month in Penn Township. The program, taught by police, firefighters and other emergency responders, will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. June 17-21 at the Level...
